The SNK company, founded in 1978, has developed a lot of games for the arcades and some titles for 8-bit systems, before releasing the Neo Geo and MVS. This article's goal is to
retrace the course of the company during the twelve years that preceded the advent of its famous 16-bit machine. This is the time to remember a few hits of the past, or maybe discover some
marvels you never heard before... This is also an opportunity to highlight some filiations. You will discover in this article arcade coin-up released in the eighties that inspired some famous
titles on the Rolls-Royce of videogames. Welcome dear reader, in the heart of the company that gave birth a few years later to the Neo Geo.

SNK logo, back in the early eighties.

FULL LIST OF SNK GAMES RELEASED BETWEEN 1978 & 1990

1979

Ozma
Wars

Safari Rally

1980

Sasuke
vs. Commander

1981

Fantasy

Satan of Saturn / Zarzon

Vanguard

1982

Lasso

Pioneer Baloon

1983

Joyful
Road / Munch Mobile

Marvin's Maze

1984

Gladiator 1984

Jumping Cross

Mad Crasher

Main Event

Vanguard II

1985

ASO -
Armored Scrum Object / Alpha Mission

HAL21

T.N.K. III /
T.A.N.K.

1986

Athena

Ikari
Warriors

Meijinsen

Victory
Road

1987

Bermuda Triangle / World Wars

Guerilla War /
Guevara

Mahjong Block
Jongbou

Psycho
Soldier

Touchdown
Fever

1988

Chopper
I

Fighting Golf / Country
Club

Fighting
Soccer

Gold
Medalist

P.O.W. - Prisoners of War /
Datsugoku - Prisoners of War

Paddle Mania / Touchdown Fever
2

1989

Beast
Busters

Ikari III - The
Rescue

Mechanized
Attack

The Next
Space

Prehistoric Isle in
1930

SAR - Search And
Rescue

Street
Smart

Super Champion
Baseball

1990

Crystalis

During its first twelve years of existence, the firm managed to build a serious reputation in the world of arcades, and just by taking a look at the list above, you can see it's fulfilled with
various great arcade games. The editor is present on all fronts, and tries its talent at many different styles, offering sometimes remarkable innovations. By 1990, SNK
completely abandoned development on other arcade platforms to devote himself solely to MVS and AES. It would be difficult to present here all
of the SNK titles released before the Neo Geo, but let's rather review a few emblematic games in which the firm has built its reputation and success, as well as other less famous ones, but which
might have generated more or less recognizable filiations on the 16-bit system.